


Miss Elizabeth Knows Best

by fardareismai



Series: Make The World Better Promo [4]
Category: Pride and Prejudice & Related Fandoms, Pride and Prejudice (1995), Pride and Prejudice (2005), Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
Genre: F/M, Missing Scene, Slice of Life, not a lot happens here folks, prompts fulfilled, tumblr prompts fulfilled
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-06
Updated: 2017-02-06
Packaged: 2018-09-22 12:39:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9607961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fardareismai/pseuds/fardareismai
Summary: A dinner party the night before the wedding of the eldest two Bennet sisters is nearly derailed entirely by a malicious gossip.A Pride & Prejudice prompt fulfilled for my Make The World Better Promo.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Fleurdeneuf is running a really amazing knitting promo on Tumblr where she is making knitted pieces for donations to the ACLU. If you don't want to give her your address so she can ship them to you, you can ask her to donate your piece to her local women's shelter, for whom she is already working on pieces.
> 
> Because Fleur is a generous and lovely soul, I have written this prompt for her:  
> Pride and Prejudice, party the night before Lizzie and Darcy's wedding.

Fitzwilliam Darcy had known Charles Bingley for several years and was quite certain, in that time, that he had never envied the younger man anything.

Charles was rich, it was true, but Fitzwilliam was richer.  Bingley’s rented home at Netherfield was fine, but Darcy’s inherited estate at Pemberly was finer.  Charles had two sisters and Darcy only one, but Darcy would have chosen the company of Georgiana over the company of either of the Bingley women without hesitation and with joy.

There had been a brief time when Darcy had considered that, had he Bingley’s happy manners and friendly affability, his situation might have been improved.  Charles, Fitzwilliam was quite sure, would not have so bungled his first attempt to propose to Miss Elizabeth Bennet.

In truth, Eliza Bennet herself had assuaged most of what might have been Darcy’s envy when she had explained that he could have offered himself to her in no way that would have induced her to accept him.  If Miss Elizabeth was to be believed- and Darcy had determined to make it a policy to do so as often as possible moving forward- even Charles’ charm would have failed at that time.

In the end, Bingley had become happily engaged to Miss Bennet, and Darcy had similarly bound himself to Miss Elizabeth, and so there was no point in envy when everyone involved was so content with the situation.

And yet, in this moment, on the eve of his wedding, Darcy might have given it all up- save, of course, for Elizabeth- to be in Bingley’s position.

Charles was seated on a settee beside his beloved, her small, pale hand clasped in both of his, the two with their golden-bright heads bent toward each other, clearly hearing not a note coming from the pianoforte to which the Bennet family was ostensibly listening as it was played by Mary Bennet.

It was not a matter of wishing to hold the hand of Miss Jane Bennet, but Darcy’s own fiancé was across the room, turning the pages for her sister.  Yet even when this chore was finished, she would not join him and allow him to, as Bingley was doing, take her hand in his and whisper quietly into her ear.  He was book-ended on one side by Miss Catherine Bennet and on the other by his imminent mother-in-law.

Had his companions been more congenial, he might have found himself envying his young friend less.  Had his companions simply been quiet, he might have done so.  Mrs. Bennet made a point of speaking to him as little as possible, but kept leaning forward in her seat to engage Georgiana, who was sitting across the room, in questions about Pemberly, London, and Paris.  Georgiana, though shy, was perfectly able to converse about the cities themselves- their architecture, history, and art- but found herself flummoxed by Mrs. Bennet’s questions about fashion.  It was, simply, not one of her interests, and yet when Fitzwilliam attempted to veer the conversation away from these pursuits, he was ignored by the matriarch.

On his other side, Catherine merely sighed and fidgeted such that he could scarcely hear Mary’s playing.  Since Lydia’s abandonment and her older sisters’ engagements, Kitty had seemed to drift, like a kite on a broken string.  Without Lydia’s more forceful personality battering her one way and another, it seemed young Katherine had nothing to guide her and so had become colourless and empty.  When she did speak, she was rude and her only saving grace was that she did speak but little.

Beside Georgiana, Caroline Bingley was nearly as silent as Kitty, but more controlled.  Her lips held a smile that did not meet her dark eyes, which darted from person to person in the room, watching like a hawk.

Darcy kept an eye on her.  He knew Caroline of old and did not trust her to keep a civil tongue, particularly with her brother so obviously distracted.  The Bennets (Mrs. Bennet in particular, with Catherine so diminished) could easily provide targets for Caroline’s most gleefully malicious criticisms, and while Darcy had never entirely disagreed with Miss Bingley’s analysis of the Bennet family in general, such behavior would upset Elizabeth, and Darcy would not stand for that.

“Tell me of this new fashion for long sleeves in London, my dear Miss Darcy,” Mrs. Bennet said, leaning up past Darcy’s shoulder yet again.  It was her fourth such attempt to draw Georgiana into a conversation about fashion.  Her first had been to ask where Miss Darcy had purchased her dress, causing Georgiana to blink in confusion for a moment before admitting that their family employed a seamstress and tailor at Pemberly.  Mrs. Bennet had then tried to question Miss Darcy about her dress for the following day’s wedding.

“It is yellow,” Georgiana had said simply.

Caroline’s eyes had glittered wickedly, apparently thinking Georgiana was being rude, but Darcy knew that his sister was entirely uninterested in clothing, so long as it fit her well and did not restrict her movements.  Georgiana’s companion usually chose her clothes and bullied her to the shops to choose the makings of new dresses.  Had it been Georgiana’s own choice, she would still be wearing the gown their father had bought for her fourteenth birthday.

Regarding sleeves in London, Georgiana glanced at her brother for a moment before turning her attention to their hostess.

“I’m afraid that I have been at Pemberly for some weeks, though while I was last in London, I did notice that some people were wearing sleeves on their dresses.  I suppose I thought it must be because it was so cold, but perhaps it is a new fashion.  I shall pay better attention the next time I am there and report back.”

She was saved any more awkwardness when Mary’s musical piece finally came to an end and Mr. Bennet led the polite applause.  Everyone joined in- Jane and Charles looking away from each other for the first time in some minutes, and both Catherine and Caroline giving great theatrical sighs of relief which were thankfully covered up by the clapping.

“Catherine,” Miss Bingley said as the applause died and Elizabeth and Mary organized the music on the pianoforte, “I understand you have not yet been to Pemberly.  Have you been invited yet?  When do you plan to go?”

Darcy stiffened in his seat, even as he could feel Kitty coming alive at his shoulder for the first time all evening.  He had known that marrying Elizabeth Bennet would mean, of course, tying himself to the rest of the Bennet family, and had acknowledged that inviting some of the more difficult elements of that family to his own home in Derbyshire would be necessary, but he had hoped that he and his new bride would have some time to find their footing before being descended upon by the moods and moaning of Catherine Bennet.

He could, however, think of no way to avoid offering a visit to his sister-in-law.  He could see in Caroline’s features that this had been her intent, and he could feel Kitty’s enthusiasm for the idea even without looking at her to verify.  It was Miss Bingley’s desire to see his honeymoon with his new bride (of whom she thought very little) cut short, and it annoyed Mr. Darcy to no end to be so manipulated.

“Unfortunately, Caroline,” came the voice of an angel from the direction of the pianoforte, “it will be some months before Kitty can join Mr. Darcy and me at Pemberly.”  Elizabeth smiled at her younger sister sweetly, though beneath the gentle features there was steel in her look.  “It was meant to be a surprise for you, Kitty, and for you as well, Mary, but Jane and I were speaking with our mother and father just a day or two past.”

Darcy glanced over to find Jane had finally torn her attention away from Charles and was listening to Elizabeth’s explanation with a look of near-angelic serenity on her face.

“You have both been so patient and helpful these past weeks as we have been preparing for the wedding, that Jane and I thought you deserved a treat, and Mother and Father quite agreed.  You shall all be going to Brighton just as soon as the wedding is over.  Now doesn’t that sound diverting?”

Mary only huffed at the idea, but Catherine had, for the first time all night, straightened in her seat and was leaning toward her father as though she could know his mind with the intensity of her gaze.

“Where the soldiers are?” she asked.

“The soldiers did summer there,” Elizabeth agreed before her father could say anything, “but they have since left.  It is a vacation to the sea, Kitty, not a vacation to visit the soldiers.”

Jane made a tiny noise but, attuned to her elder sister as ever, Elizabeth glanced at her, and softened her tone again.

“That said, my dear sister, there may be handsome men in Brighton that you will be able to meet.  Just not in regimentals.”

Kitty glanced at her sisters’ fiancés, both handsome, and neither one soldiers, and furrowed her brow at this idea.  After some moments of what appeared to be very intense thought, the girl nodded.

“Thank you, Father,” she said softly and, for the first time in Darcy’s knowledge of her, sweetly.

Elizabeth smiled again and turned to Miss Bingley.  “Caroline, you are so gifted upon the pianoforte.  Will you not play for us?  I shall turn the pages for you, if you like.”

~?~?~?~?~

Jane and Elizabeth were allowed to escort the gentlemen to the door as Mr. Bennet and Mr. Hurst escorted the visiting ladies out to the waiting carriage, giving the affianced couples their last moments together before they were to be wed in relative privacy.

“Should I expect that it will be I who funds this family excursion to the sea?” Darcy asked quietly, leaning his head down to finally, _finally_ whisper into his betrothed’s ear.

“I had thought,” she said, her voice low so as not to carry across the entrance way where Charles and Jane stood, though Darcy was sure Jane already knew the details of the arrangement, “that you would consider it a worthy expense, as it will give us some months before the Bennets of Longbourn descend upon the hallowed halls of Pemberly.  If you do not think so, you could always rescind the offer.”

The entrance was dimly-lit, but her eyes sparkled in the candlelight, and Darcy loved her monstrously.

“It has rarely been said of me that I am a foolish man, Miss Elizabeth.  That will, perhaps, best be exemplified by knowing that my wife always knows best.”

He reached down and took her hand, drawing her toward him until he could feel the warmth of her body through her clothing and his.  Not his wife yet, but very _very_ soon.

He drew her hand up to his mouth and kissed her gently and reverently on the smooth knuckles of her hand.

“Good night, Lizzy,” he said softly.

Her eyes were dark and wide as she looked at him, and her mouth was quirked into that half-smile that said she was laughing at him.

“Good night, Fitzwilliam.”


End file.
